


Unforgettable

by GalaxyAqua



Series: Sugar [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-01
Updated: 2015-08-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 09:32:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4474208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyAqua/pseuds/GalaxyAqua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She doesn't really know what it is that she feels. But Kyouko Kirigiri is enchanting, she thinks. And that is a very good place to start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unforgettable

**Author's Note:**

> heeereeeeeeee lies the author, who does not know where this ship came from but is now invested good bye

From the moment Kyouko Kirigiri had poured a drink over Byakuya Togami’s head, Chiaki Nanami had been absolutely taken with her – though with what reasons and what sort of emotion, she had no idea. She doesn’t actually remember the actual events unfolding, only that she had served Togami his order less than an hour prior, but her co-worker, Hinata, had gone on about it for long enough afterwards that she figures the details are pretty clear.

A young man, Naegi, had apparently provoked Togami, and his backlash apparently provoked Kirigiri, and that apparently ended up with Togami getting drenched and Kirigiri kidnapping her distressed friend and leaving the vicinity. Plain and simple.

Yet knowing what happened doesn’t tell her what this sort of feeling is; this blossoming of something odd and warm in her chest, that she simply has not felt before. She knows what ‘romance’ is, sort of, but she doesn’t think it’s quite that. It’s just something she hasn’t thought too much about. It doesn’t tend to cross her mind.

But Kirigiri _does_ , and that’s why she’s curious.

For probably the same reason, she lets the beautiful lilac-haired girl saunter into Hope’s Peak Café whenever she likes – even if their manager had supposedly banned her from the establishment. Moreover, their manager is never around and it’s not as if Hinata minds … or so Nanami thinks.

“What the hell are you doing here?” She hears Hinata shout at someone from the back room, and Nanami sighs. Next time, she needs to tell Kirigiri to take the other entrance.

Taking one final glance around the general area to make sure the customers were all looked after, she moves towards the back and smooths out her apron, ready to act as the mediator (a role which she solely believes she is much too famous for).

“Just dropping by,” is Kirigiri’s smooth reply, and upon entry, Nanami resists the sudden urge to hide. The law student spots her over Hinata’s shoulder and waves, the slightest of smiles gracing her lips. “Hey Nanami. I’m not intruding, am I?”  

Hinata follows her gaze and looks at Nanami incredulously. “ _You_ let her in?”

“Not at all,” The gamer answers Kirigiri and then tips her head at Hinata. “Yes, I did.”

“Why?” he asks, making a wild hand gesture at their uninvited guest, whilst Kirigiri lets her eyes fall back to the notebook in her hands. “You know she’s not allowed here!”

Nanami shrugs, and doesn’t fashion him with a reply. Instead, she yawns and turns back towards the main shop. “Time to get back to work…”

“Nanami!” Hinata protests, but makes no move to stop her, grumbling as he follows and shoots one last stern look at Kirigiri. “No messing around back here, okay?”

“Roger that, captain.” She replies, not looking up. Nanami is only glad she’s dealing with two equally level-headed (though Hinata’s temper could be… questionable), sensible people, and that the dispute ended quickly – if only for her own sake.

“Nanami,” Hinata begins, as soon as they’re by the counter and at least looking as if they were working diligently. She even pretends to clean the counters, knowing full well that she had cleaned them at least 3 times prior.

“Yes?”

“Why is she here?”

At least he cuts straight to the point, she muses. “She needed a place to get away. That, and she thinks it’s a real pity she got banned from here… says it’s a nice place. Which makes sense... right?”

“Yeah, well, she could’ve _not_ dumped someone’s drink onto _Byakuya Togami_ and gotten banned, for a start.”

Nanami smiles, a little more cheekily than she would like to admit. “You know… you enjoyed that.”

Hinata has the decency to look ashamed, though a grin plays across his lips also, “Yeah, well, that still doesn’t make it okay.”

“She’s a good person… I think.”

The bell rings at the front, signaling a customer's arrival, and Hinata shakes a finger at her before he goes, “Just this once, Nanami. Just this once.”

“Okay.” She replies.

But when Kirigiri shows up again, a few days later, she doesn’t hesitate to let her in.

* * *

These days, caught up in their latest ‘game’ and a lovely face to go with it, Hinata doesn’t pay as much attention to her activities as he used to. His perceptiveness hasn’t lost its edge, but his mind is certainly directed elsewhere – and as Nanami makes yet _another_ green tea frappuccino; she’s not particularly surprised.  

However, she is surprised, when Kirigiri (now a regular presence in the back room, so much so that when Nanami goes to grab ingredients, she has to keep stepping over those stacks of law books) makes the very same observation that she does, regarding Hinata and his newfound air-headedness.

“He likes that guy.” Kirigiri comments, when Nanami steps in to replenish some sugar jars. The barista halts in place, blinking slowly at the other woman, rubbing her cheek at the same time. She doesn’t have to ask who ‘that guy’ is. Kirigiri’s sitting on a box of green tea with her fingers pointing down, and peers over at her emotionlessly (though a twinkle of amusement lies in her eyes, and Nanami wonders when she started paying so much attention).

“… ah. You think so, too?”

“I know so.” The law student affirms with a flick of a gloved hand. “His tells are so obvious, I don’t even have to _be_ there to know.”

_Sorry Hinata but it's true_ , Nanami thinks, as her mouth moves to say, “I … know what you mean… but it would be bad to push him, maybe.”

Kirigiri raises an eyebrow and smirks, ever so slightly. The ribbon in her hair bounces as she nods knowingly, and she catches Nanami once more with her striking violet eyes. “Maybe. But instead of pushing, you could always pull, right? The affection is two-sided. Take that as you will.”

And she does indeed pull, much to Hinata’s chagrin. Just a few strings behind the scenes, the gamer reassures herself, _it’s for his own good_. In the span of the following days, Nanami is glad to watch the fruits of her efforts grow. Even if Hinata makes an idiot out of himself. It was nice to see him lose his guard, once in a while.

Something akin to elation fills her, when she sees Kirigiri the next time, and has at least this much new information to impart upon her.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Kirigiri shoots her the smallest smile, but it freezes Nanami in place. It’s the first time the other had smiled directly at her. She doesn’t know why this matters so much. Her heart feels as if it is going into overdrive.

“… thank you.” Is all she can manage to say, and the law student is barely impressed.

“You won’t miss him, once his prince takes him away?”

Nanami tilts her head to one side, “… what do you mean?”

Kirigiri sighs. “You care about him, don’t you? You, someone who doesn’t enjoy interfering, willingly interfered for his sake. If Hinata wasn’t important to you, why would you even care?”

The gamer can’t bring herself to tell the other that it never crossed her mind _why._ She had done it simply because the other girl had suggested it. But she can’t tell her that either. Plainly, and possibly moronically, Nanami says instead, “Hinata is… like my… son. I think.”

Kirigiri barely stifles a laugh, and immediately cups her hand over her mouth, looking as collected as possible in that position. “Sorry, what was that?”

Nanami puffs out her cheeks, unhappy at being laughed at, but certain that her words were true. “My son, I said. He’s like my son… hmm, maybe ‘brother’, would be a better term…? In any case, I'm happy for him.”

“… you sure that’s it? Are you trying to say that he’s like family to you?”

"Hmm..." Nanami runs the word 'family' through her head a couple of times. It was close enough, if it got the other to understand. “Yep, probably.”

“Good.” Kirigiri says cryptically, brushing hair from her face, and Nanami doesn’t know why, but she thinks she feels her own face suddenly grow warm. Maybe Hinata turned on the heaters? He never liked the cold.

"Good...?"

“Get ready.” Nanami hears the other say, and once again, is left utterly confused.

“Um, for…what?”

“I’m going to go all-out.” Kirigiri declares, in all seriousness, but for _what_ , Nanami still doesn’t know. Unfortunately, the haze of sleep starts to overtake her and she hasn’t the opportunity to ask once more.

* * *

Kirigiri doesn’t show up for some time after that, but Nanami doesn’t really worry. She watches as Naegi and Hinata converse – not about to admit that she’s been eavesdropping – and from what she’s gathered, Kirigiri has been swamped with exams and Naegi has been crowned her new errand boy; his duties including alarmingly frequent visits to the café to buy her those sweet things she adores, which Nanami dutifully makes and is flattered by the constant praise.

The law books still scattered in the back room serve as a reminder that she will indeed return, and more often than not, Nanami finds herself sitting among them and simply looking over the contents – all very dry, but very clearly the field that Kirigiri was no doubt a master in. She is going to become the best detective in the world, and the barista is sure of it.

Sometimes, Nanami finds little notes scribbled in the corners of the books, things like _‘remember this’_ or _‘this is probably important’_ , and it brings her small delights to know that her friend (could they be considered friends now?) had worked so hard to achieve her goal.

However, the more she looks over those little notes, the more Nanami notices something else.

_‘Hinata says she likes playing all sorts of games, even bad ones, as long as they’re fun’,_ she reads, and knows there is no-one else it could be referring to, but her. Something flutters in her stomach.

_‘Also, doesn’t like alarm clocks and really likes sleeping’_ , the gamer wonders where she even found that out.

_‘really cute when she’s mad’_

Nanami blinks, squinting as if she had read it wrong.

_‘pulls hood over head when shy’_

Hang on, that’s definitely…                            

_‘the hood has cat ears, like her backpack’_

… definitely…

_‘sharp as a fiddle, but completely oblivious to romance (?)’_

…  too embarrassing.

Nanami finally places a name to that warmth in her cheeks – it would be blushing, wouldn’t it? She’s blushing – and wills it down by pushing the book gently away, and batting lightly at her cheeks.

When she emerges out of the back room, Hinata doesn’t question why she’s got her hood pulled over her head. He only smiles, waving a quiet farewell to Naegi before sauntering over. “Hey there, do you need a longer break? I don’t mind manning the register a bit longer, if you need.”

“It’s fine.” She smiles in return, though her eyelids start to feel heavy. She yawns. “I should be… okay…”

“Go take a nap or something.” He suggests, already steering her back the way she came. “You don’t want to overwork yourself.”

“Hinata… you’re a good son.” She says sleepily.

Hinata laughs, and pats her on the head. “You be quiet and go to sleep. You’re years too young to be calling yourself my mother, thank you very much.”

Her mind in a haze, she can only think of that book over and over. Of Kirigiri's observations, and more importantly _why_ she had written those observations down. She wants to know... “Hey... if Kirigiri drops by… you’ll let her in, won’t you?”

He blinks in surprise, frowns, scrunches up his nose, relaxes, and eventually allows himself to just nod in resignation. She is infinitely grateful for his peculiar good mood. “Yeah. Okay. I can make her do your job for you while you’re asleep.”

“Aww, no, don’t do that…”

“I do what I want.”

Nanami already drifts off, and finds herself in the midst of a warm, warm dream.

When she looks up, she meets a beautiful summer sky – a long expanse of cloudless blue, with the sun shining down and the trees dancing shadows across her skin. Her bare feet feel the texture of white sand as she walks, and she is content simply to watch the waves lap at the shore beside her.

“Don’t forget what you have to do,” she hears Kirigiri say, but the source of the voice is completely unknown. Nanami doesn’t panic. To hear her voice is somewhat calming.

“What do I have to do?” she asks, closing her eyes as the wind plays with her hair.

“Give them hope.” Kirigiri replies, from wherever she is. “But most of all, enjoy yourself. You of all people deserve it.”

Nanami doesn’t understand, exactly, but she gets the feeling that she soon will. So she nods. “I’ll do what I can.”

“I’m counting on you.”

She smiles, inevitably glad to be of assistance. “I’ll definitely do my best.”

“Stay safe.”

The gamer wants to say the words back, but the shining summer island scenery starts to fade into an array of pixels, and she feels herself slowly slipping back into consciousness.

Her first thought is, _what time is it,_ because the bustle of the night crowd is trickling in through the walls, but any immediate thought after that flies out the window when she spots Kyouko Kirigiri sitting cross-legged by her bedside – sofa in the back room, same difference – and Nanami almost falls off the edge.

“Huh…?”

“Hey there, sleeping beauty.” Kirigiri whispers, with a gloved finger at her lips and Nanami feels a glow in her cheeks once more.

“G’morning…”

“Can you believe Hinata let me waltz in without saying anything?” the law student places a hand on her chest and looks around shiftily, as if she had been intending on sneaking in, with or without Hinata’s permission.

“Ah… he listened, then.”

“You told him to?” She smiles again – that tiny smile that makes Nanami feel like she’s floating on air – and looks over to the door leading to the shop. “Thank you. Saved me a lot of trouble. And you weren’t even awake to do it.”

Nanami nods absent-mindedly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “How were… your exams?”

“Hell.” Kirigiri says, so quickly that the barista thinks she said the same thing anyone else asked the question. Which was fair enough, really. “How was your nap?”

She thinks back to the dream. Something like being relied on like that was...

“… good.” And for whatever reason, she adds a too-honest: “I’m happy to see you.”

To the shock of no-one except Nanami herself, a light pink creeps across Kirigiri’s face. “… yeah. Same here.” Her eyes shift to the side. “You know, your little cakes and things kept me alive through exam week. So, I owe you one.”

“Really? I’m glad.” Sitting completely straight, Nanami begins to fidget with her hands. “Cooking is fun. It's almost like a game in itself... so it’s not a problem.”

The other girl shrugs, “Well, I couldn’t do it the way you do. Before you existed, I lived on instant noodles, canned tuna and pizza.”

Nanami giggles softly at that. “Now you’re just exaggerating.”

“Hm, say what you like, but ask Naegi. He knows what the darkness feels like.”

The gamer smiles and nods again, patting the space beside herself. “I will. Do you want to come sit?”

“Since you’re offering.” The law student seats herself right where Nanami indicated, and the barista is suddenly much too aware of their proximity and the rate her heartbeat increases.

“This reminds me of a dating game,” she blurts out suddenly, because it's the truth, and Kirigiri glances over at her in surprise. She’s so close that Nanami can count her pretty little lashes.

“Oh? Enlighten me.”

“Ah, I’m no good at those types of games…” the gamer admits, thinking there was no point in masquerading that she was. She tugs at her hood, and pulls it over her head. “But for some reason, there’s a cliché where the protagonist and their love interest end up locked together in a cabin, and sit side-by-side on a couch, just like this… I think.”

“So clinical.” Kirigiri comments, yet there’s nothing but fondness in her voice. It’s warm. Nanami rests her head on the other girl’s shoulder, pleasantly dazed to find there is no resistance or tension. She feels the vibration of Kirigiri’s silent laugh, “Hey, won’t you tell me more about this cliché of yours? What is the cabin useful for?”

“Um, well…” Nanami blinks her brilliant eyes, deeply reflecting on how to word her explanation. “Let’s say you are the protagonist. And I am the love interest.”

“Sure. I can roll with that.”

“They give you three options. You can choose to ask me out on a date… leave it for now… or confess that you want another person to be with you…”

“And, say I chose option 1?”

Nanami’s expression turns to one of confusion, but she’s too comfortable to face the other girl and instead nuzzles her hooded head into the side of her neck. “You mean, if you asked me out on a date…?”

“Yeah,” Kirigiri answers breezily, though the heat emanating from her body betrays her feelings and Nanami wonders.

A date with Kirigiri. What would a date consist of? The idea of hanging out outside of the café would be nice. Holding hands… also sounded nice. Being able to be with her, being able to learn all about her, and being able to see her gorgeous smile… wanting that… is that a form of ‘romance’, after all?

“Um, I would probably say… yep. I would like to go with you.” She can’t repress the giggle. It feels much too surreal to say out loud. “On a date. Yeah.”

“Okay then,” Kirigiri clears her throat and gently raises Nanami’s head from her shoulder, so she can look at her directly. The gamer’s face radiates warmth, but she doesn’t turn away – she can’t turn away, from those stunning eyes. That gorgeously framed face. That wonderfully enticing soul. “For real; will you go out with me?”

There’s nothing that she wants to say, but, “Yep. I would be really happy to.”

The law student runs a hand through her hair; the only sign of nervousness she allows herself to show. Nanami finds it endearing. “You really… you’re okay with this?”

She has no experience, and doesn’t know a single thing about what she’s doing, but she knows what is certain is that she wants to learn with this beautiful, future detective by her side. There is nothing she wants more in this moment but that.

Kirigiri glances at her hesitantly, from the lack of response, and Nanami leans over to peck her daintily on the nose.

“… absolutely.” She says sincerely.

And, to tell the truth, maybe what they have is some kind of a ‘romance’, after all. She’d figure it out – the feeling of her heart pounding and the feeling of being _complete._

“So,” the law student speaks up breathlessly, pressing a gloved finger lightly to her own nose. “Is this… official?”                                                                                       

_Yes,_ Nanami thinks, as she nuzzles once more into the side of her now-girlfriend’s neck. _I could never say yes enough._ “Kind of,” she yawns, and smiles all the same.

“Kind of?” Kirigiri chuckles, a renewed brightness and flush in her cheeks as she does so. “I like that.”

They’d figure it out together, one step at a time.

**Author's Note:**

> is this impromptu series over?? probably??? will I write more of this au if I'm feeling it? probably???? 
> 
> aka thank you so much for sticking around (for one, two, or all three parts)! I may expand on these in the future, but for now, this is it! Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
